Final Reflection
Friday, July 18, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Blog Post #14 & 15
Strengths Weakness
organization skills Stubborn
willingness to learn new things not knowing much about different technologies
caring for others
In the next year and a half I believe that I will need to become more open to all of the changes that are going on in the classrooms. I also believe that I should familiarize myself with the course contents in the grade that I plan on teaching. Ultimately I need to become more serious and realize that everything that I am learning about will soon be my reality
In How to Make an Audio QR Code I learned how to create an Audio QR code. I learned how easy and convenient it is to create and use in the classroom. I also learned that there is a very easy to use website to help create the QR Code.
In iPad Reading Center I learned that using the iPad in the reading center is very helpful. I learned that the students use their iPad to record themselves while they are reading. When they are finished reading they play the recording and read along with their recording to make sure they did not make any mistakes. I believe that having iPads in the reading center will help the students become better readers.
In Poplet as a Center I learned that poplet is a free download on the ipads. I learned that poplet is an app that helps the students create web charts. I also learned that poplet helps the students enhance typing skills as well as reading skills.
In Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarten Center I learned that the students are able to use the virtual library. They use the library to search different words that they are covering that week. They watch different videos and draw a picture of what they have watched. After they have finished their drawing they have to write a sentence to go along with the picture. Drawing the picture and writing a sentence to go along with it show that the students understand what they are learning.
In How to Make an iMovie Trailer for Kindergarten I learned that even Kindergarten students can make a movie trailer and sometime they can do better than adults. I learned that the students are very excited to learn how to make the movie trailers. I also learned that it is important to teach the kindergarten students how to take good pictures.
In Discovery Education Board Builder I learned how the students create a board on Discovery Ed Board Builder. The board helps the students search, create and enter facts about the moon. It also allows the students to upload images and videos.
In Mrs. Tassin's 2nd Grade Class, Mrs, Tassin's 2nd grade class shared their board builder projects. They explained how they created their projects and where their sources came from.
In Twitter for Educators I learned that twitter is changing the way that teachers are learning. I learned that twitter chat is a great place to learn for educators. Twitter connects you with educators all over the world.
In We All Become Learners I learned that have different devices changes the dynamics of learning. The use of the devices helps everyone to become learners.
organization skills Stubborn
willingness to learn new things not knowing much about different technologies
caring for others
In the next year and a half I believe that I will need to become more open to all of the changes that are going on in the classrooms. I also believe that I should familiarize myself with the course contents in the grade that I plan on teaching. Ultimately I need to become more serious and realize that everything that I am learning about will soon be my reality
In How to Make an Audio QR Code I learned how to create an Audio QR code. I learned how easy and convenient it is to create and use in the classroom. I also learned that there is a very easy to use website to help create the QR Code.
In iPad Reading Center I learned that using the iPad in the reading center is very helpful. I learned that the students use their iPad to record themselves while they are reading. When they are finished reading they play the recording and read along with their recording to make sure they did not make any mistakes. I believe that having iPads in the reading center will help the students become better readers.
In Poplet as a Center I learned that poplet is a free download on the ipads. I learned that poplet is an app that helps the students create web charts. I also learned that poplet helps the students enhance typing skills as well as reading skills.
In Alabama Virtual Library as a Kindergarten Center I learned that the students are able to use the virtual library. They use the library to search different words that they are covering that week. They watch different videos and draw a picture of what they have watched. After they have finished their drawing they have to write a sentence to go along with the picture. Drawing the picture and writing a sentence to go along with it show that the students understand what they are learning.
In How to Make an iMovie Trailer for Kindergarten I learned that even Kindergarten students can make a movie trailer and sometime they can do better than adults. I learned that the students are very excited to learn how to make the movie trailers. I also learned that it is important to teach the kindergarten students how to take good pictures.
In Discovery Education Board Builder I learned how the students create a board on Discovery Ed Board Builder. The board helps the students search, create and enter facts about the moon. It also allows the students to upload images and videos.
In Mrs. Tassin's 2nd Grade Class, Mrs, Tassin's 2nd grade class shared their board builder projects. They explained how they created their projects and where their sources came from.
In Twitter for Educators I learned that twitter is changing the way that teachers are learning. I learned that twitter chat is a great place to learn for educators. Twitter connects you with educators all over the world.
In We All Become Learners I learned that have different devices changes the dynamics of learning. The use of the devices helps everyone to become learners.
C4T #4 Permanent
I replied by saying that this acronym is definitely powerful and motivating. I said that the post shows first hand how great it is to network and collaborate with others. I finished by saying that I would definitely be using the acronym in my future classroom.
The next post I read was The Blogging Kraken: How to Keep Up with All Your Students' Blog. In this post Mrs. Tolisano talked about how to keep up with all of the students's blogs. She began by saying blogging is about reading and writing in digital spaces. She said that we want students to make their learning and thinking visible. She said that timely feedback from teachers, peers and a global audience is critical to the blogging process. She then gives a chart that shows the strategies that help develop a workflow. C4T a #4
Mrs. Diane Dahl
I read Engaging Brains: How to Enhance Learning by Teaching Kids About Neuroplasticity. In this post Mrs.Dahl and a Co-Author talked about how to enhance learning by teaching kids about neuroplasticity. They said that teaching students about neuroplasticity can have a transformative impact in the classroom. They then said that using the strategies effectively produces learning gains, which motivate students to take charge of their learning which leads to further academic success. They said that when students see this process as changing their own brains the result is a powerful and positive cycle. Their strategies for engagement are, License to Drive, Go BIG, Practice Practice Practice, and Room to Improve.
I commented by first introducing myself. I then said that I enjoyed reading her post. I said that she had great ideas and strategies. I told her that I believe that her post will be very useful to me in my future classroom.
The next post I read is How to Plan and Schedule Guided Reading Groups. In this post Mrs. Dahl explained how she plan and schedule her guided reading groups. She first determine the student reading levels by taking data from the end of the previous school year. After she gather the data she makes the groups. She then schedule the groups so that can meet with each group at least once a week. Some groups she may have to meet with more than once a week depending on the reading level of the group.
I commented by first introducing myself. I then said that her post was very informative. I told her that her plans are very organized and easy to follow. I told her that I would definitely keep her post as a reference for my future classroom.
I commented by first introducing myself. I then said that I enjoyed reading her post. I said that she had great ideas and strategies. I told her that I believe that her post will be very useful to me in my future classroom.
The next post I read is How to Plan and Schedule Guided Reading Groups. In this post Mrs. Dahl explained how she plan and schedule her guided reading groups. She first determine the student reading levels by taking data from the end of the previous school year. After she gather the data she makes the groups. She then schedule the groups so that can meet with each group at least once a week. Some groups she may have to meet with more than once a week depending on the reading level of the group.
I commented by first introducing myself. I then said that her post was very informative. I told her that her plans are very organized and easy to follow. I told her that I would definitely keep her post as a reference for my future classroom.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
PLN Final Summary
My PLN is still a work in progress. Of course I will continue to have Dr. Strange in my PLN. Currently the main source on my PLN is Pinterest. There are many great ideas and resources. I will continue to add our EDM 310 lab assistants and other teachers that I will encounter on my journey to becoming an Elementary Education/Special Education teacher.
Blog Post #13
What Did I Leave Out
In this blog you will be focusing on Special Education.
*Down Syndrome
*Autism
*Cerebral Palsey
*Spina Bifida
Research each disability above. Explain what the disability is and how you would accommodate for a student with the disability. Also tell how you would make it a fun learning environment for those students.
In this blog you will be focusing on Special Education.
*Down Syndrome
*Autism
*Cerebral Palsey
*Spina Bifida
Research each disability above. Explain what the disability is and how you would accommodate for a student with the disability. Also tell how you would make it a fun learning environment for those students.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Blog Post #12
“iPad Usage For the Blind” and “Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning On the iPad” are both videos that discuss that an iPad has different features that allow sight impaired people to use them just as anyone else would. One can swipe their finger across the homescreen and an automated voice would read aloud the names of the apps and what one should do to use and access them. For example, in iBooks, the automated voice will read aloud the book chosen, as well as tell you the chapter you are reading, and also read aloud the different functions in iBooks that are available on each page of the book such as “Library button” or “Table of Contents”. For our future students that may have sight disabilities we can provide headphones so that those students can have the automated voices speak to them during class without disrupting other students. We would want our disabled students to enjoy school and get the most out of our classes, just as any other student would.
The first three sources that we were given for this blog post were Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children, Apple Assistive Technologies and The Mountbatten. These three sources give us different technologies that can be used in the classroom to help vision and hearing impaired students. The Assistive Technologies video talks about how there are so many children that are vision or hearing impaired. The video seems to be a motivation video to make a difference and be able to have these students do what the other students are doing and to not let them be completely limited. The Apple Assistive Technology source was a website that showed different accessories that you can get for an iPad that students can use in the classroom to help them. The Mountbatten video is about the Mountbatten Braille Writer that helps blind students be able to respond in the classroom. When the student brailles, the student announces what the machine is typing in Braille. This machine is able to save files and also send files to a computer. This machine can be helpful in the classroom, especially if a teacher does not know braille. It will help the teacher know what the student is typing because it says it out loud. Both assistive technologies sources will be great to have handy in the classroom because it will help students be able to not have any limitations in the classroom.
In Teaching Math to The Blind a professor at the University of San Francisco talks about a device that he created to help blind students solve simple and advanced math problems. The device is a grid that holds small square pieces. The square pieces has a number written on one side and on the other side the same number is written in braille. With this device teachers are able to teach math to blind students at a younger age. I think that this device would be very useful to me in my classroom. The device will help the blind students model and solve math problems just as a sighted student would.
In the 50 Must See Blogs for Special Education Teachers, there are tons of blogs that could be helpful to any teacher, not just special education. Teaching All Students was a great resource to look at. It had many blog post added weekly that contained different tools that teachers may need. In Dyslexia My Life, Girard Sagmiller shares about his struggle with dyslexia and gives teachers advice on how to teach children with dyslexia. Special Education and Disability Rights Bog is an important blog to review because it explains different legal issues you may face as a special education teacher. My Special Needs Network could be a very helpful blog for teachers. It is a group of blogs from teachers AND parents that could greatly help you understand how to help a child because you don’t only have a teachers view but also a parent view!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Blog Post #11
What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?
In the video Back to the Future Mr. Brian Crosby talks about the different projects that he have his students to do throughout the year. Ninety percent of Mr. Crosby's students are second language learners and are students living in poverty. He said that project based learning empowers the children to want to learn on their own and to be active learners. Mr. Crosby also said that project based learning helps connect the students to the world. The students learn how to collaborate and be independent learners.
In Blended Learning Cycle Mr. Paul Andersen talks about blended learning in his classroom. Mr Andersen said that blended learning is taking mobile, online and classroom learning and mixing them together. His learning cycle begins with engage, explore, explain, expand, and finishes with evaluate. He created an acronym called quivers. He said that first you start with a good QUestion, next Investigation/Inquiry to get some more information on the topic, Video, he makes a video for the students to watch individually, Elaboration, he assigns topics he would like the students to read in depth about, Review, he get with small groups and ask questions to make sure they understand the information, and finally Summary quiz, he gives the summary quiz after they have made it through the review with him.
In Making Thinking Visible by Mark Church the students are working in small groups discussing a video called Early Human Beginnings. Mr. Church has the students to come up with a headline that would connect everything from the video together. He said after they are finished with their final project he will ask the again what would their headlines be then.
In Building Comics Mr. Sam Pane 4th grade students were learning how to be good digital citizens. After learning how to be good digital citizens Mr. Pane had his students build a digital super hero and create a comic. They use their digital super hero in a comic showing that the understood how to be good digital citizens. He said by having his students to do this helped the to write narratives and analyze how multimedia elements contribute to text.
In Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski teachers talk about cross curricular. With their cross curricular they have crossed English, History, and Information Processing. The teachers said that with cross curricular the students have more time to do their projects. They said with more time the students do a better job on their projects.
In Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program the teachers talk about what Project Based Learning brings to their 1st graders. The teachers said that in PBL the students are exposed to real world problems. PBL expose the students to public speaking and collaboration at an early age. The teachers said that the students have choices and are able to make decisions on their own. The Roosevelt parents are also happy with the performance of their children in PBL. They also said that PBL gives differentiation and works with multiple intelligence's.
In the video Back to the Future Mr. Brian Crosby talks about the different projects that he have his students to do throughout the year. Ninety percent of Mr. Crosby's students are second language learners and are students living in poverty. He said that project based learning empowers the children to want to learn on their own and to be active learners. Mr. Crosby also said that project based learning helps connect the students to the world. The students learn how to collaborate and be independent learners.
In Blended Learning Cycle Mr. Paul Andersen talks about blended learning in his classroom. Mr Andersen said that blended learning is taking mobile, online and classroom learning and mixing them together. His learning cycle begins with engage, explore, explain, expand, and finishes with evaluate. He created an acronym called quivers. He said that first you start with a good QUestion, next Investigation/Inquiry to get some more information on the topic, Video, he makes a video for the students to watch individually, Elaboration, he assigns topics he would like the students to read in depth about, Review, he get with small groups and ask questions to make sure they understand the information, and finally Summary quiz, he gives the summary quiz after they have made it through the review with him.
In Making Thinking Visible by Mark Church the students are working in small groups discussing a video called Early Human Beginnings. Mr. Church has the students to come up with a headline that would connect everything from the video together. He said after they are finished with their final project he will ask the again what would their headlines be then.
In Building Comics Mr. Sam Pane 4th grade students were learning how to be good digital citizens. After learning how to be good digital citizens Mr. Pane had his students build a digital super hero and create a comic. They use their digital super hero in a comic showing that the understood how to be good digital citizens. He said by having his students to do this helped the to write narratives and analyze how multimedia elements contribute to text.
In Project Based Learning by Dean Shareski teachers talk about cross curricular. With their cross curricular they have crossed English, History, and Information Processing. The teachers said that with cross curricular the students have more time to do their projects. They said with more time the students do a better job on their projects.
In Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program the teachers talk about what Project Based Learning brings to their 1st graders. The teachers said that in PBL the students are exposed to real world problems. PBL expose the students to public speaking and collaboration at an early age. The teachers said that the students have choices and are able to make decisions on their own. The Roosevelt parents are also happy with the performance of their children in PBL. They also said that PBL gives differentiation and works with multiple intelligence's.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
C4T #3 Permanent
On Mrs. Tolisano's blog I read The Possibilities of Student Blogging. This blog post was a video on students sharing their learning experiences about blogging. The video starts off by saying that student blogging is about giving students a platform where they can talk to the world. The students then explained what a blogging. They then began talking about quad blogging. Quad blogging is a four week project where one class is connected with three other classes. Each week one class focuses on being the writers while the other three classes read and comment. The classes rotate each week. With quad blogging the teachers wanted to see if blogging helps improve the students writing. They chose the other three team in other countries to connect the students to the world. the students enjoyed getting new comments and having a real audience. Having the blogs encourage the students to write more.
I relied by saying that I enjoyed watching the video. I said that I enjoyed learning about quad blogging. I said that I believe that allowing the students to blog with people in different countries gives them a different outlook on the different topics they are discussing. I also think that it also builds their peer editing and writing skills.
The next post I read is called Documenting FOR Learning. Mrs. Tolisano began by saying that she is a documenter and she's always been. She said that she is her families historian. Mrs. Tolisano said that documenting for learning is a supporting piece for the study self-determined learning and a strategy, approach and technique to facilitate learning. She sees documenting as a memory aid, curation, a component of reflective practice and more. Mrs. Tolisano said that until now she has primarily seen and used documentation for her own and other's professional learning. She then listed the types of tools she uses for documentation. She uses video, photos, sketch notes, notes, tweets,blogs, slide deck, screen shooting and casting and mind maps.
I replied by introducing myself. I said that I can honestly say that I never thought about documenting things for learning purposes. I said that I have always documented things such as important documents that would be needed for later. I said as I go deeper into my education degree I see that it is good to document items that could be helpful in the classroom and to share ideas with colleagues. I thanked her for her helpful post.
C4Ta #3
This week I read Mr. Dean Shareski's blog Visitors and Residents and Digital Citizenship. In this post Mr. Shareski talks about digital citizenship. He starts by saying when schools and districts want to discuss digital citizenship they usually emphasize the dangers and problems of thoughtless online behaviors. He thinks that most people visitors of the web because they are told to be on their best behavior. He used for an example, when parents take their children to visit other families, the main focus to the parents is making sure the children behave themselves. Referring back to digital citizenship he said it is largely about damage control. He said when we grant someone citizenship we speak of responsibility to make things better, not just staying out of trouble. He went on to say that the messages that most students are receiving about how to live and act online are from visitors. He said that this is an obvious disconnection because many of the students are residents. He closed by saying it would be like him telling his American colleagues how to be good U.S. citizens.
I replied by introducing myself. I told him that I enjoyed reading his post. I also told him that his post brought some good points to my attention about being a digital citizen.
The second post I read was On Motivation and Engagement. In this post Mr. Shareski opens by saying It is no secret to his readers, friends, and students that he has a thing with grading. He listed a question that he said he might give to his students. "If I were to give you an A at the beginning of the class and you didn't have to take the course, would you accept that offer?" He said that he would guess that most of them would take the deal. He said that the question led him to challenge himself with a similar question. "If the University were to give you your stipend and you didn't have to teach the course, would you accept that offer?" He said that he realize that the two questions were not entirely equal and fair, but it makes him wonder about motivation for both him and students. He said that he loves teaching and that he is currently working at two institutions. He said that the pay is twice as much at one and he does not put in half the time. He closed by saying that he is struggling a bit. He said that he preach to his students often about how he feels that grading is overrated and he does not really value them. He wants his students to focus on learning, not grade.
I replied by telling him I enjoyed reading his post. I also told him that I have encountered plenty of teachers that have the same feelings toward grading as he do.
Blog Post #10
What Can We Learn From Ms. Cassidy?
I enjoyed watching Little Kids...Big Potential. This video showed how Ms. Cassidy's first grade class use technology. It is amazing to see how excited the students are to blog and showcase their work to the world. In this video the students talked blogging and commenting on others blogs. The video shows the students using the internet, wiki, and podcast. Using the blog helps improve the students writing skills. One student talked about how you should always leave nice comments on other people blogs. I believe the is a form of peer editing at an early age.
After watching this video I watched a three part interview with Ms. Cassidy Video 1, Video 2, and Video 3. In the first video Ms. Cassidy talked about how she first started using techonology. She said said that she was given five computers in her classroom but she could not download any software to them. She researched and found ways that she could use them for her classroom. After researching she created a class blog for her students. I have learned that the students and the parents love the blogging idea. The students love it because they can showcase their work and they know that they are getting comments on their work. The blogs give the students an audience. The parents love it because they can go and view their child's blog at any time and see the progress of their child throughout the year. In this video Dr. Strange informs Ms. Cassidy that some students are not really accepting the idea of technology in the classroom. Ms. Cassidy says that the world is changing and technology is here to stay. In video 2 Ms. Cassidy said to use things that you are interested in to connect with others using technology. If you are more interested in writing you should blog. If you are interested in using videos you should use youtube. In video 3 students from EDM 310 asked Ms. Cassidy questions. In my future classroom I would like to have a class blog for my students also. Having a class blog would help keep the parents informed on what their children are doing and they can also keep up with their progress. Having a class blog will also help the children build their communication skills, collaboration skills, as well as their peer editing skills. I also feel that having a blog helps you stay more organized rather than having piles and piles of papers everything is organized in digital folders.
I enjoyed watching Little Kids...Big Potential. This video showed how Ms. Cassidy's first grade class use technology. It is amazing to see how excited the students are to blog and showcase their work to the world. In this video the students talked blogging and commenting on others blogs. The video shows the students using the internet, wiki, and podcast. Using the blog helps improve the students writing skills. One student talked about how you should always leave nice comments on other people blogs. I believe the is a form of peer editing at an early age.
After watching this video I watched a three part interview with Ms. Cassidy Video 1, Video 2, and Video 3. In the first video Ms. Cassidy talked about how she first started using techonology. She said said that she was given five computers in her classroom but she could not download any software to them. She researched and found ways that she could use them for her classroom. After researching she created a class blog for her students. I have learned that the students and the parents love the blogging idea. The students love it because they can showcase their work and they know that they are getting comments on their work. The blogs give the students an audience. The parents love it because they can go and view their child's blog at any time and see the progress of their child throughout the year. In this video Dr. Strange informs Ms. Cassidy that some students are not really accepting the idea of technology in the classroom. Ms. Cassidy says that the world is changing and technology is here to stay. In video 2 Ms. Cassidy said to use things that you are interested in to connect with others using technology. If you are more interested in writing you should blog. If you are interested in using videos you should use youtube. In video 3 students from EDM 310 asked Ms. Cassidy questions. In my future classroom I would like to have a class blog for my students also. Having a class blog would help keep the parents informed on what their children are doing and they can also keep up with their progress. Having a class blog will also help the children build their communication skills, collaboration skills, as well as their peer editing skills. I also feel that having a blog helps you stay more organized rather than having piles and piles of papers everything is organized in digital folders.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Blog Post #9
What Can Teachers and Students Teach us About Project Based Learning?
Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning taught me that as a teachers we should make projects meaningful to the students. Students should believe that their work is personally meaningful. I learned that students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not feel a need to know what they are being taught. Teachers can powerfully activate students' need to know content by launching a project with an "entry event" that engages the students interest. In Project Based Learning for Teachers I learned that in PBL allows students to take charge of their learning. I also learned that PBL allow students to develop communication skills, collaboration skills, critical thinking skills and independent learning. In Project Based Learning and Physical Education I learned that when students are involved in Project Based Learning they see why they are learning. The students learn and complete their projects concurrently and continually revising and producing a product that they will present publicly. I believe that when students know that their work will be presented publicly they do their best and take pride in producing quality work. What Motivates Students? is a good video to watch. In this video students informed us of what motivates them. The students had many things that motivates them. They said that just having a good future was motivation and also telling them that they are doing a good job. Some students said that prizes and fun activities is motivating. I believe that it is always good to hear from the student on what motivates them and what they would like. Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning this page gave different websites that PBL and digital collaboration. I looked at Titan Pad which is said to be a way for quick collaboration and sharing documents. Titan pad is similar to Google Docs but no email is needed. I think that this website would be good for the younger grades.
Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning taught me that as a teachers we should make projects meaningful to the students. Students should believe that their work is personally meaningful. I learned that students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not feel a need to know what they are being taught. Teachers can powerfully activate students' need to know content by launching a project with an "entry event" that engages the students interest. In Project Based Learning for Teachers I learned that in PBL allows students to take charge of their learning. I also learned that PBL allow students to develop communication skills, collaboration skills, critical thinking skills and independent learning. In Project Based Learning and Physical Education I learned that when students are involved in Project Based Learning they see why they are learning. The students learn and complete their projects concurrently and continually revising and producing a product that they will present publicly. I believe that when students know that their work will be presented publicly they do their best and take pride in producing quality work. What Motivates Students? is a good video to watch. In this video students informed us of what motivates them. The students had many things that motivates them. They said that just having a good future was motivation and also telling them that they are doing a good job. Some students said that prizes and fun activities is motivating. I believe that it is always good to hear from the student on what motivates them and what they would like. Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning this page gave different websites that PBL and digital collaboration. I looked at Titan Pad which is said to be a way for quick collaboration and sharing documents. Titan pad is similar to Google Docs but no email is needed. I think that this website would be good for the younger grades.
Special Blog Post
Why do we have to learn History ?
I believe that there are many answers to this question. My answer is history answers the questions How and Why. I believe that we have to learn history to have a sense of where we have come from so we can appreciate what we have now. I also believe when we are learning we should always background information, history is our background information. We learn history to educate ourselves. We would not know why things are if we did not know the history behind it. History is important and will always be apart of our lives.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
C4Ta #2
I was assigned Beth Knittle. The first post I read was Promise, Potential, Achievement. She starts off by saying it takes an attitude of optimism to see the promise and potential in people. I totally agree with this. She then goes on to say that sometimes it takes a lot to believe that the students you work with can improve let alone achieve great things. She said that she may not ever know what those great things may be but she is doing her best to get them there. She ends by saying that she too often hear students say that they deserve a good grade. She said that you won't get it if you do not put in the hard work and effort that is required.
I replied by introducing myself. I told her that I really enjoyed her post. I told her that I was a future educator and that after reading "It takes an attitude of optimism to see the promise and potential in people" I believe this should apply to all educators.
The next post I read was Finding the Right Tool. In this post Mrs. Knittle talks about finding the right tool for the right job in the school systems. She talks about how different schools are at different places when it comes to the level of technology integration and would also require different tools. She goes on to say that you cannot say that one tool is better than another. She said that the currents discussions revolve mainly around iPads v.s. Chromebooks. She gave examples of what the students should be able to do using iPads and Chromebooks i.e., create and share video, create presentations, access and create eBooks and improve accessibility.
I replied by saying that I agree that technology is having a great impact in education. I said that it is also true that different schools are at different places when it comes to technology. I ended by say that I think that it is good for students to know how to work both Mac and PC.
I replied by introducing myself. I told her that I really enjoyed her post. I told her that I was a future educator and that after reading "It takes an attitude of optimism to see the promise and potential in people" I believe this should apply to all educators.
The next post I read was Finding the Right Tool. In this post Mrs. Knittle talks about finding the right tool for the right job in the school systems. She talks about how different schools are at different places when it comes to the level of technology integration and would also require different tools. She goes on to say that you cannot say that one tool is better than another. She said that the currents discussions revolve mainly around iPads v.s. Chromebooks. She gave examples of what the students should be able to do using iPads and Chromebooks i.e., create and share video, create presentations, access and create eBooks and improve accessibility.
I replied by saying that I agree that technology is having a great impact in education. I said that it is also true that different schools are at different places when it comes to technology. I ended by say that I think that it is good for students to know how to work both Mac and PC.
C4T #2 Permanent
Mrs. Silvia Tolisano
I read Blogging as a Curation Platform. In this post Mrs. Tolisano talked about using blogging as a curation tool. She focused on hoe educators and students could use their blogs to become their own information curators. She first explained what curating is. She listed four uses for Twitter as a curation tool. She said that the uses for twitter will also apply for blogging. Mrs. Tolisano said the only difference would be that blogging allows more freedom with length, formatting and design, and connecting and hyper linking. She ended by giving the don'ts for curators.
I responded by telling her that I had never heard of curating before reading her post. I said that her post was very informing. I ended by saying that after reading her post I agree that blogging would be a good platform for curation.
I read Copyright Flowchart: Can I Use It? Yes? No? If This... Then.... In this post Mrs Tolisano talked about the importance of educators modeling good digital citizenship for their students. She said that it is every educators responsibility to become familiar with copyright, plagiarism and intellectual property. She created flowcharts that are easy to follow. The flowcharts give a clear route to learn the do's and don'ts of copyrighting.
I responded by telling her that I am new to blogging and her post was very informing. I told her that her post gave me a better understanding to copyrighting in the digital world. I told her that the chart she created was easy to read and to understand. I finished by saying that the chart would be useful for future references.
Blog Post #8
What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?
Mr.Pausch's video Last Lecture was very interesting. The question was asked what can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch. I learned that we must always have something to bring to the table. Mr. Pausch stated "When you know that you're doing bad and no one is staying on to you, that's when they have given up on you", I believe that to be true. I learned as a teacher we should teach "head fake" learning. "Head fake" learning is learning more than a specific topic i.e., sportsmanship and teamwork. I learned not to set a bar for my students but to let them go beyond where the bar would be. Mr. Pausch said that project based learning is intense and fun. He also said that the best gift an educator give is to get someone to become self-reflective. I believe being self-reflective plays a major role in project based learning. Mr. Pausch said to have fun and to never give up. I think that this statement applies to both teaching and learning. Something that stuck out to me the most was his question " Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore. Which one are you?
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Project #13
Project Based Learning Plan #1
My group and I decided to do our lesson plan on shape recognition for Kindergarten. Here is our Lesson Plan
My group and I decided to do our lesson plan on shape recognition for Kindergarten. Here is our Lesson Plan
Blog Post #7
GeoGebra
GeoGebra is a mathematics and science software used for learning and teaching. It is a free download that covers geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics, and calculus. This software also has an authoring tool that allows creation of interactive learning materials that can be used as web pages.
Scriblink
Scriblink is a free digital whiteboard that users can share online and in real-time. Scriblink is a great collaboration tool. Scriblink could be used for layout planning, concept diagramming, and even tutoring. Features of Scriblink includes: privacy, dynamic tools, file options, image uploader, on-screen chats, voip conferencing, and file transfer.
ThingLink for Education
ThingLink for Education is a safe and efficient online classroom environment. It has a free sign up section for teachers and students. This website help teachers create interactive images to help students develop 21st century skills. The image interaction tools includes tagging tools also. The tagging tools gives photos a new life with music, videos, web, and other fun links. ThingLink allows you to create image collages and add tags that give background information to the images and also to annotate charts and illustrations. After exploring this site I believe that this could be a very helpful 21st century learning tool.
GeoGebra is a mathematics and science software used for learning and teaching. It is a free download that covers geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics, and calculus. This software also has an authoring tool that allows creation of interactive learning materials that can be used as web pages.
Scriblink
Scriblink is a free digital whiteboard that users can share online and in real-time. Scriblink is a great collaboration tool. Scriblink could be used for layout planning, concept diagramming, and even tutoring. Features of Scriblink includes: privacy, dynamic tools, file options, image uploader, on-screen chats, voip conferencing, and file transfer.
ThingLink for Education
ThingLink for Education is a safe and efficient online classroom environment. It has a free sign up section for teachers and students. This website help teachers create interactive images to help students develop 21st century skills. The image interaction tools includes tagging tools also. The tagging tools gives photos a new life with music, videos, web, and other fun links. ThingLink allows you to create image collages and add tags that give background information to the images and also to annotate charts and illustrations. After exploring this site I believe that this could be a very helpful 21st century learning tool.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Blog Post #6
What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?
The videos Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2 gave me a better understanding of why PBL is used and how it is used. I have learned that PBL is used as a way to get the students to learn something and not something to do at the of a lesson to see if the students have learned the information that was given. PBL creates an authentic audience. Having an authentic audience motivates the students to do good work. The most crucial part of PBL for students is reflecting and revising. Reflecting and revising helps the students understand what they have done and also help the correct and learn how they can do things better the next time. I learned that in PBL you should never limit your students and your expectations. You should always create an opportunity for the students to go beyond what you want them to do. In the iCurio conversation I learned that iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search websites. They can also search for images, videos, and online media that has been pulled and filtered for educational uses. Students can also use it for storage. Content that the students my find valuable can be stored and organized in folders, this is a way to teach virtual organization. ICurio is kid friendly and useful for all grades. The Anthony-Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1 gave great tips for teachers. The tips that I found useful for me are being interested in learning, as a teacher we will be life long learners; let your work become a fun experience; be flexible and creative because unexpected things will happen; motivate every child to want to learn; and lastly reflection and self-evaluation. Watching these videos has given me information and knowledge that I will carry with me throughout my career as a student and as a teacher.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Blog Post #5
What are PLNs or Personal Learning Networks? I certainly did not know before taking this course. Dr. Strange defined it best, PLN is a quality list of people and tools that you can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or other assistance. PLNs can be formed by blogging, using twitter, and Facebook. To create a quality PLN you should find people who share the same ideas and interests and add them to your network. As a future teacher PLNs will help me meet other teachers who can offer advice and ideas. I can also reflect on things that I have done in my classroom and share my ideas with others. Having a quality PLN will help me to continue to be a life long learner.
In creating my own PLN I would first add Dr. Strange. He is playing a great role in helping us connect with other teachers across the world. I would then add some of the teachers that I have observed and the ones that I will observe. Right now my PLN is small but this is just the beginning. I look forward to networking and meeting new people.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Project #15
Search Engines
Excite is an all purpose search engine. On the home page there is an area with different links such as; air/travel, health, home and garden, and shopping. The page also has an area where people can log in to their e-mails. From the looks of the page it seems to be an older page. I probably would not use this website.
FreeBookSearch.Net is a search engine for books.The site has a simple search, advanced search, extended search, and a search audio books. I chose to do a simple search. I searched for Dr.Seuss and got back ten pages of results. I also searched for the author of our class book,and received a great list of results. I am glad I found this search engine. I would recommend this search engine to all of the book lovers.
Lexis Nexis is said to be the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, and business information. The page has legal and professional solutions for law firms, corporations, and government agencies seeking legal solutions. I would probably not use this search engine.
Cheat Search is a search engine to find cheat codes to different games. I search for the Call of Duty and different websites came up with different games. I would not use this search engine because I am not a gamer.
Monster is the largest resume database and online job search. I have used this search engine before. Monster allows you to search for jobs by, job title, company name, and location. You can also upload resumes to a profile to submit with applications. I would say this is a good job searching website.
WebMD is a search engine for health information, symptom checklist, pharmacy information, and a place to store personal medical information. I have used this search engine a lot. I am the person who likes to diagnose my own illness when I think something is wrong with me. This website has confirmed many times that there was nothing wrong. This website has helped me a lot.
YouTube is a search engine for videos. YouTube have videos such as, music, instructional, and documentaries. I am a big YouTube user. You can find just about any video you are looking for on YouTube. Just type in keywords to what ever you are looking for and different videos will pop up. You can also create an account and upload your own videos.
WolframAlpha is a search engine that calculate math problems. This is a great website. WolframAlpha will be very helpful to me in my future math class. This website will also be helpful to people who need extra help or answers to math problems.
Excite is an all purpose search engine. On the home page there is an area with different links such as; air/travel, health, home and garden, and shopping. The page also has an area where people can log in to their e-mails. From the looks of the page it seems to be an older page. I probably would not use this website.
FreeBookSearch.Net is a search engine for books.The site has a simple search, advanced search, extended search, and a search audio books. I chose to do a simple search. I searched for Dr.Seuss and got back ten pages of results. I also searched for the author of our class book,and received a great list of results. I am glad I found this search engine. I would recommend this search engine to all of the book lovers.
Lexis Nexis is said to be the world's largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions, forms, and business information. The page has legal and professional solutions for law firms, corporations, and government agencies seeking legal solutions. I would probably not use this search engine.
Cheat Search is a search engine to find cheat codes to different games. I search for the Call of Duty and different websites came up with different games. I would not use this search engine because I am not a gamer.
Monster is the largest resume database and online job search. I have used this search engine before. Monster allows you to search for jobs by, job title, company name, and location. You can also upload resumes to a profile to submit with applications. I would say this is a good job searching website.
WebMD is a search engine for health information, symptom checklist, pharmacy information, and a place to store personal medical information. I have used this search engine a lot. I am the person who likes to diagnose my own illness when I think something is wrong with me. This website has confirmed many times that there was nothing wrong. This website has helped me a lot.
YouTube is a search engine for videos. YouTube have videos such as, music, instructional, and documentaries. I am a big YouTube user. You can find just about any video you are looking for on YouTube. Just type in keywords to what ever you are looking for and different videos will pop up. You can also create an account and upload your own videos.
WolframAlpha is a search engine that calculate math problems. This is a great website. WolframAlpha will be very helpful to me in my future math class. This website will also be helpful to people who need extra help or answers to math problems.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Project 6 C4T Permanent #1
Mrs Silvia Tolisano
I chose to read And You Thought It Could Not Be Done : Blogging In Math. In this post Mrs. Tolisano talks about a math teacher who is upgrading her traditionally taught classroom. The math teacher upgraded by creating a classroom blog. On the blog she had her sixth grade math students share different links they found that they thought would help with collecting data. She then had them to create a presentation on the blog analyzing and articulating a story of the data they had found. The students found many tools that could help them.
I replied to her post saying that I enjoyed reading her post. I said that I also had never thought that blogging would work in a math class. I also told her that think that this style of blogging is a very effective way for students to learn and to find tools for extra help if they needed it. I ended by leaving the link to my blog.
The next post I read is titled Back to the Future Project: Life Cycle Snapshots in Target Language. Mrs. Tolisano blogs about a Portuguese teacher. Ana Cortez created a project called Back to the Future for her 7th and 8th grade students. The project was for them to practice their target language during their life cycle unit. The students had to create a fake Facebook page using a fictional character. On the page the students had to announce the birth of the character, during the infancy/childhood years, high school time, adulthood, and retirement.
In reply to the post, I introduced myself. I said this was a great project to help the students practice their target language. Using Facebook was a great way for students to show their creativity ans also a great way to keep the children interested in learning. I ended by saying that I would love to use this project in my future classroom.
Project 4 C4T #1
I was assigned Mr. Brendan Jones who is a P.E. coach I read his blog called Master Coach Mystery Bag Challenge
Mr. Jones is a P.E. coach who uses popular culture to inspire his teaching skills. His latest idea is called the Mystery Bag Challenge. He gets his students to get in groups of two or three. He then gives each groups a bag with random sports equipment. He gives them five to ten minutes to create a game and the rules to the game. When the time is up he lets each group teach their game and then play the game. After playing the games, he asked the groups questions like; What would have made the game work better, What would they had changed if they started over, and What did they find tricky.
After Reading Mr. Jones' post I commented telling him that I am a Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama.I told him that I enjoyed reading his post. I thought that by letting the students create games and the rules to the game as a group enhances their creative thinking and communication skills.
The second post Things I am Wondering About, Mr. Jones talked about his experience with flipping the classroom. He said that his students who have been traditionally taught majority of their academic careers, are being asked to do the complete opposite of what they know. The students feel that the new learning style is a challenge. He goes on to say that flipping the classroom is odd for him too. He feels like he is putting much more effort in and no one sees. Mr. Jones said that flipping has allowed them to run six different programs in two blocks. He does not know if he should have tried so many programs in such a short time. At the time of the post he felt like was just keeping his head above the water.My response: I introduced myself. I told him that I was currently introduced to the flipping the classroom concept. When I first read about the concept I was totally against it. After I gathered more information I became more open to the idea. I told him I feel that it will take a while to adapt to the "new way of learning". I thanked him for his informing post and wished him good luck in his future flipped classrooms.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Blog Post #4
What do we need to know about asking questions to be an Effective Teacher?
In The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, the first thing that stood out to me and the first step to being an "effective teacher" is, teachers must understand that they do not know all the answers. In this post, the author said that teachers should ask questions in a random fashion. First, start by asking a question then pause for three seconds and call a student's name to get the most effect out of asking questions. I found Asking Question to Improve Learning to be a very helpful post in answering this question. In the post the author said that teachers should avoid asking leading questions. What are leading questions? According to www.dictionary.reference.com, it defined as a question so worded as to suggest the proper or desired answer. It is said that these types of questions hinder the students from thinking of the answer on their own. Also, teachers should present a yes-or-no question followed with a second question to get the students to explain why they answered the way they did. The last point found helpful was not to ask more than one question at a time. Asking more than one question at a time may confuse the students causing them not to know which question to answer. Overall, I believe that if we combine these different ideas and others that we discover in the process of becoming a teacher, we will create a great format of question asking and become an "effective teacher" that we are all striving to be.
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